


When you still thought perfection to be beautiful

by grapefruitshampoo (Buckysaur)



Category: Original Work
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Angst, Clint is Evan's brother because RP, Domestic Violence, M/M, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Unhealthy Relationships, Violence, rated M for violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-08
Updated: 2015-04-08
Packaged: 2018-03-21 22:42:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 5,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3706561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Buckysaur/pseuds/grapefruitshampoo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Evan's origin story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Little Red Riding Hood

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ravengal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ravengal/gifts).



> This is the origin story of Evan, part of the Disneyverse. Can absolutely be read independently, but frankly I recommend you read the Disneyverse first if it's been posted. 
> 
> (As of April 2015 it has not...)

_“But, grandmother, what big eyes you have!”_

– Little Red Riding Hood, by the Brothers Grimm

 

Evan stood with his back to the wall, his head lightly bobbing on the rhythm of the music as he watched the crowd. It was the very first party of the year, meant for the people of his dorm to socialize and get to know each other. Normally he’d be in the middle of the action, chatting and dancing and drinking and flirting away with everything that moved. This time though, he felt a bit anxious, because he normally knew at least _one_ person at a party. Today, he didn’t know anyone, and he was trying to get a read on the crowd before he mingled with those in it, in an attempt to pinpoint some people he might like.

He could easily make friends with almost anyone, really, that wasn’t the problem, but this was _college._ Statistically speaking, he was going to meet his very best friends for the rest of his life here. He wanted to find _those_ people. Not just a group of fellow students that he would go to a movie with every once in a while and would then never talk to again after graduation.

He was just about to push himself off the wall and approach a group of artsy looking people when a handsome looking guy walked up to him. “Hey there, my name’s Dave,” the guy said, shooting him a charming smile that showed off his white teeth. “Sorry to bother you, but you looked a bit lonely out here.”

Evan smiled, shrugging to indicate that it wasn’t a problem. “That’s fine. I’m Evan, first year business major. Nice to meet you, Dave.”

He held out his hand, and Dave transferred his glass with what looked like a sweet mix drink to his left hand so he could shake it. “Nice to meet you too, Evan. This is my second year here, I’m in economics,” Dave said, leaning against the wall next to Evan, facing him with an almost searching look in his eyes.

Evan looked back at the crowd, only half turned to the guy. His eyes, which were a light, cold blue, gave him chills, and not necessarily the bad kind. “Second year, huh, so I take it you like it here?” he asked, deciding to go for some small talk.

Dave nodded, and Evan’s eyes shifted back from the crowd to him. “Yeah, it’s a nice uni. As far as, you know, _school_ , can be nice.”

Evan chuckled at that, and although he felt the urge to look away again – not wanting to creep the guy out by maintaining eye contact for too long, – he found himself unable to do so. “I dunno, it doesn’t seem _that_ bad. The whole concept of school, that is.” He was finally able to gaze down, and stared at the dark amber liquid in his glass as he swished it from side to side. “You know. Learning stuff and all. Great idea, really.”

 _Wow, Evan. So articulate_ , he thought to himself with a mental groan. He really needed to work on the ‘talking casually to attractive men when completely sober’ thing. He took a large gulp of his drink, the sweetness of coco and coke a nice distraction from the equally sweet looking guy next to him.

Dave chuckled, and he shifted a bit closer to Evan against the wall, their shoulders and elbows brushing against each other awkwardly. Evan quickly took his glass in his right hand instead of his left. Although he favoured the latter, he didn’t want to risk spilling his drink because he got distracted. Then he looked up to the side, to look at Dave, and for a moment it was like all the air of his lungs had rushed out.

 _O...kay... that’s very close. Very, very close._ A grin flashed on Evan’s face. _And_ very _obviously on purpose._

He raised an eyebrow. “So, want to show me around?” he asked, not backing away an inch.

Dave cocked an eyebrow as well, and Evan suddenly noticed the silver ring there, shimmering in between the locks of hair on Dave’s forehead. “It’d be my pleasure,” Dave said then, pushing himself off the wall and then turning around again to face Evan, his back to the crowd as he offered him a hand. “Shall we?”

Evan took his hand and dove into the party.


	2. The Little Mermaid

_“But if you take away my voice,” said the little mermaid, “what is left for me?”_

– The Little Mermaid, by Hans Christian Andersen

 

“Don’t look at them like that.”

Evan’s eyes shot to Dave, wide open in guilty surprise. “What? I wasn’t looking—I just—they dance well, is all.” He looked down at his drink and toyed with the straw, trying to poke it through the piece of pineapple still left on the bottom of his glass.

“You were _looking_ ,” Dave continued, his voice accusing and his eyes dark. His eyebrows were drawn together into a deep frown. Then he sighed and looked down at his hand, which had reached out to cover Evan’s on the table a mere second earlier. “I’m sorry, baby, you know how I get. I see you looking at a pretty boy and it just makes me so afraid you’ll leave me.”

Evan looked up at Dave and smiled reassuringly. “I know, it’s okay. Everybody gets jealous from time to time.” He leaned over the table to press a kiss to Dave’s lips, which his boyfriend eagerly responded to by parting his lips and letting his tongue dart out in between Evan’s.

Evan could feel his cheeks flush with heat, and he was glad that they were sitting in a dark corner of the bar, where people were unlikely to catch them making out.

When they broke away, both breathing a bit faster, Dave’s eyes were glistening. He cupped Evans jaw, his fingers digging into his cheek, and drew him closer, whispering filthily into his ear. When Dave leaned away, he shot Evan a questioning look. Evan groaned in return. He nodded quickly and slammed his drink back. Then he stood up as Dave tossed money to cover their drinks and a modest tip onto the table.

They were out the door in seconds.


	3. Rapunzel

_“Aha! ” she cried scornfully. “You have come for your Mistress Darling, but that beautiful bird is no longer sitting in her nest, nor is she singing any more. The cat got her, and will scratch your eyes out as well. You have lost Rapunzel. You will never see her again.”_

– Rapunzel, by the brothers Grimm

 

It was his second Saturday night alone in a row, and Evan couldn’t help but feel a little bit miserable. He knew it was his own fault that he hadn’t made many friends yet, but for the first half of the semester he simply hadn’t really noticed just how little time he spent actively talking to people. He had spent every single weekend with Dave, going to clubs and bars and watching sports at Evan’s dorm because he had a tv. (He didn’t really like sports, but he had made it sort of a challenge to see how much he could distract Dave from the game before he got annoyed, and what kind of distractions it took for Dave _not_ to get annoyed. It was very entertaining, in a strange kind of way.)

Last week, however, Dave had been busy, and this week was the same, and although he had been fine with it initially, it hadn’t occurred to Evan until the weekend had actually started that he was completely and utterly alone.

Sure, he had his group of friends that he hung out and went to movies with once or twice a week, but none of them had even texted him back after he’d asked if anyone wanted to hang out. They all had their own cliques that they hung out with over the weekends.

Evan had no one.

And so it was that he spent his Saturday night playing Angry Birds on his phone until he found himself listlessly browsing through his contact list again, and stumbled upon his brother’s name. He didn’t doubt that Clint was probably spending his Saturday night as he usually was, – having the time of his life – but he felt just pathetic enough that he risked a call.

Flopping back onto his couch, staring at the ceiling, he listened to the repetitive beeping of his phone as it dialled.

“This is Clint, you know what to do after the beep mother— _BEEP._ ”

Evan rolled his eyes at his brother’s voicemail message, although still he couldn’t resist being slightly amused by it. It was childish, that was for sure, but it was so very _Clint._

“Hey there Hawkass, it’s your little brother. Figured you’d be out having sex with someone, but I was bored so... yeah, decided to drop you a call. Take care, hope I’ll see you again soon,” Evan rattled off, forcing his voice to sound happy.

He hung up, tossed his phone away, and hugged a pillow to his chest.

Just another lonely Saturday. He’d survive, right? It was only for two more weekends anyway, then Dave would have time again.


	4. The Ugly Duckling

_“You don’t understand me,” said the duckling._

– The Ugly Duckling, by Hand Christian Andersen

 

Dave L. (3:14 pm) _let’s run away, baby, just the two of us_

Evan V. (3:16 pm) _Dave, I have classes :(_

Dave L. (3:17 pm) _but you could have me ;)_

Evan V. (3:21 pm) _Can’t, babe, sorry._

Dave L. (3:22 pm) _eeevaaaannnn, my valentine, come ooonn_

Dave L. (3:23 pm) _let’s just get in the car and drive, have fun for a day_

Dave L. (3:24 pm) _you don’t LIVE, baby_

Evan V. (3:25 pm) _*Sigh*_

Evan V. (3:25 pm) _I’ll tell the professor that I feel sick_

Evan V. (3:30 pm) _I got out. Your dorm?_

Dave L. (3:32 pm) _my car, we’re going for a ride_

Evan V. (3:33 pm) _WE or I? ;)_

Dave L. (3:34 pm) _hopefully both ;)_

 

There was really something to be said about fast convertible cars and crazy boyfriends willing to drive them down the highway at a hundred miles per hour. Evan had never known it was a thing he liked, but with the wind whipping his hair around his head and the sun beating down hotly on him and his boyfriend... well, he felt _alive_.

He turned around to Dave, beaming happily. “This is awesome!” he shouted, just loud enough for his voice to carry over to Dave, who shot him a cocky grin.

“Of course it is! It was my idea!”

They zoomed past a river, a lake, an impressive formation of mountains. Evan closed his eyes, laid back into his seat, and sighed. Dave had been right. He felt so free like this, so absolutely weightless, relieved of the burdens of school and _life_.

He opened his eyes again, and smiled at Dave, who was being his usual careless self and looking at him instead of the road. He put his hand on Dave’s knee and squeezed. “Thank you. You were right, sitting cooped up in a classroom for hours drives me insane.”

“I know baby, I understand how you work, remember?” Dave replied, bowing down compliantly when Evan leaned in to give him a kiss on his cheek.

“Hmm, yes you do, like no one else.” Evan leaned his head on Dave’s shoulder and looked out over the world, for once, completely content with where he was.


	5. Alice in Wonderland

_“Well!” thought Alice to herself, “after such a fall as this, I shall think nothing of tumbling down stairs! How brave they’ll all think me at home! Why, I wouldn’t say anything about it, even if I fell off the top of the house!”_

– Alice in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll

 

Dave glared at the table when Evan’s phone buzzed again, and Evan shot him an apologetic look as he picked it up and muted it quickly. He read the stream of messages in the group chat with his friends, and send a short reply.

“I’m going out with Damian and Luke tonight,” he announced. “We’re gonna see that new Marvel movie.”

Dave sighed and turned around so that he was laying on his back facing away from Evan on the other couch. “Sure. Have fun,” he murmured, flipping a page of his magazine.

Evan winced. “Something wrong?” he asked.

“I don’t like it when you go out with them,” Dave answered, confirming Evan’s initial suspicions.

He sighed. “They’re my friends, Dave, what do you want me to do? Sit here at my dorm all day with you?” he asked, not sure how he felt about the fact that they were having this argument _again_.

“Well,” Dave said, putting his magazine aside and glancing up at Evan. “First of all I don’t see what would be _wrong_ with that.”

Evan shook his head, “Dave, I have _friends._ I _need_ friends. I can’t just have you in my life, no matter how much I enjoy spending time with you!”

“Why not? Do you need more than me? Am I not good enough for you?” Dave pushed himself up into a sitting position.

“That’s not what this is about! They’re just my friends! I like hanging out with them!” Evan defended himself.

“Oh yeah? Hanging out? Is _that_ what you do?” Dave growled. “Do you have sex with them as well?”

Evan’s mouth fell open. “Th—I— _What_?! What are— _what_?! What are you even talking about?”

“You heard me.”

“Dave—I—I don’t understand, what—where are you even—? What? Just _what_?”

Dave sighed and slumped back onto the couch, rubbing his eyes as he leaned back. He sighed tiredly. “Evan, I... I’m sorry. It’s just... you hang out with them so much. It just makes me feel like you care more about them than you care about me.”

“Dave...” Evan was at a loss of words. He knew his boyfriend got jealous, and he didn’t actually _mind_ him being a bit possessive. It was nice to know that he was wanted. This was going a bit far though. “Of _course_ not. I care the _most_ about you! More than anyone else in the world!”

Dave shot him a weak smile, and Evan suddenly felt bad for getting so defensive earlier. His boyfriend had just been worried about him. “That’s good,” Dave said. He paused, sighing again. “Okay then, I’m sorry. I... well, you know me. I just care a lot about you, baby.”

Evan smiled and reached out across the coffee table to squeeze Dave’s hand. “Yeah, I know. It’s okay, don’t worry about it.”

“So... are you still going out with them tonight?” Dave asked, shooting him a sideways glance.

Evan hummed thoughtfully, but then shook his head. “No, I’ll stay, okay? But... next time I will, I can’t always stay away, Dave, they’re my friends,” he explained with a shrug and a smile.

“Of course,” Dave said. “Your friends.”


	6. Frau Holle

_Frau Holle led her too to the gate. She stood beneath it, but instead of gold, a large kettle full of pitch spilled over her. “That is the reward for your services,” said Frau Holle, and closed the gate._

– Frau Holle, by the Brothers Grimm

 

“You’re not coming home over break?” Clint asked, and he sounded disappointed.

Evan sighed and shook his head. “Nope, sorry Clint,” he spoke into his phone. “Dave’s made some plans for the two of us. I completely forgot to tell him that I had promised you all that I’d visit.”

Clint made a vague grumbling noise that didn’t really register as words through Evan’s speaker. “Well,” he said then, “nothing I can do about it.” Evan could hear him sigh. “I’m just putting it out here that I’m a bit pissed at you though. I especially asked for a leave from work so I could spend time with the family. Even Pepper is coming over from New York!”

Evan bit his lip guiltily, but there was nothing he could do, really. “I’m sorry, Clint,” he repeated. “I’ll be there next break, okay? I promise.”

Clint huffed. “Well, tell that to that Dave fellow of yours. And have fun with him.”

“Sure. Thanks bro.”

“Nothing to thank me for, I can hardly come over and drag you home anyway.”

Clint ended the call and Evan put down his phone, feeling guilty for letting his family down. He and his brother bickered all the time, but it was usually friendly bickering. Not any kind of serious argument. He wondered if that was just part of growing up, or if it was because he was in a relationship now; having to make choices between his partner and his family.

Dave _had_ told him about that, after all. He rubbed his eyes and realised that Dave was right. It was only healthy to spend time with one’s partner in a vacation, and his family would just have to get used to the fact that they weren’t the only important ones in Evan’s life anymore.

Glad that he had that sorted out, and feeling a lot less guilty about letting them down, he stood up from his desk chair and walked back to the living area of his dorm room, where Dave sat at the table, reading something on his tablet.

Evan hugged him from behind. “Hey baby,” he said. “I called. You were right about my brother.”

Dave huffed and turned around, pulling Evan down by his shirt collar to kiss him. “I told you. Don’t worry about it though, he’ll get over it. He’s just not used to seeing his little brother growing up and making his own decisions.”

Evan nodded, nuzzling Dave’s neck. “So, what’s for dinner?” he asked.

Dave showed him a recipe on his tablet. “Think you can make this?” he asked. Evan glanced over the instructions and hummed affirmatively.

“Yeah, just send me a screenshot of the ingredients. I’ll go grocery shopping right away.”

Dave smiled up at him. “You’re an angel.”

Evan grinned down at his boyfriend. “I know.”


	7. The Wicked Prince

_“What a mighty prince! But I must have more—much more. No power on earth must equal mine, far less exceed it.”_

– The Wicked Prince, by Hans Christian Andersen

 

Evan shook his head in denial. “I was just out with friends! We saw that new movie—the Harry Potter one you didn’t want to see, I have the ticket stub here!” He took said stub out of his pocket, tearing it in half as he did. The half that he wasn’t holding fluttered down to the ground in between them.

Dave slapped Evan’s hand to the side, and the other half of the ticket circled down through the air as well. Evan gasped and jumped back, holding his hand to his chest as he stared up at Dave wide eyes.

“Don’t you wave that filthy thing in my face! I bet your _date_ paid for it! And now you’re telling me it’s _my_ fault too? Because I didn’t want to see some stupid movie about a _magic school_?!” Dave spat. “Give me a fucking break. It’s not my fault that you can’t keep your hands where they belong!”

He grabbed Evan’s wrists, and Evan tried to tug himself free but couldn’t get away. “Let me go, Dave, I didn’t cheat on you! I wouldn’t! I’m your _boyfriend_ , for fuck’s sake! Now _let me go!_ ”

Dave huffed and pushed Evan back harshly. Evan stumbled over his coffee table and fell backwards onto his couch. He pushed himself up on his elbows, staring at Dave as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing – and he _couldn’t_.

“You want to go? Is that it? After everything we’ve been through together? After _everything_ I’ve done for you?” Dave hissed, towering over Evan with his hands clenched into fists by his sides. “You want to go to your filthy boyfriend? Hm? The one you’re trying to hide from me?”

“Dave—why do you keep insisting that I’m cheating on you?! I—I get that you love me, but don’t you get that I love you _back_?” Evan asked, tears welling up in his eyes. He couldn’t deny that he was shaking, although he wasn’t sure if he was ready to admit to himself that he was afraid.

Dave just glared at him, so Evan scrambled back onto the floor and onto his feet. He slowly stepped towards his boyfriend and laid a calming hand on his tense shoulder. “Dave... please. I love you. Please don’t do this to us,” he whispered, shaking his head.

Seconds later, Evan found himself on the floor, gasping for air as he clutched the side of his head. His face was on fire. His vision was blurry and the room seemed to pulse around him in waves as he rolled onto his back, groaning.

It took him a moment to process what had happened, and then he saw Dave standing over him, looking furious and white as a sheet at the same time, frozen in apparent shock.

Evan struggled to push himself up into a sitting position, and as soon as he managed, he made a wild pointing gesture at the door.

“Out.”

Dave left.


	8. Cinderella

_Then her mother gave her a knife, and said, “Cut a piece off your heel. When you are queen you will no longer have to go on foot.”_

– Cinderella, by the Brothers Grimm

 

Evan stayed in his dorm until his face looked normal and he could look into the light without flinching again. In all the time he had been cooped up in his room, he had done nothing but studying. He had finished his essays for the next exam period already, working through his headaches with the overabundance of post-hangover painkillers that he had in his cupboard.

He didn’t want to think about what had happened, because that would mean acknowledging that it _had_ happened.

He knew, of course, that he couldn’t keep avoiding it forever, and the sheer amount of missed calls, unopened emails, whatsapp messages and texts from Dave attested to that.

When, one morning, over a week after what he had begun to refer to as ‘the incident,’ he looked into the mirror and all he saw was blemish free skin and pure green in his eyes, he decided that it had been enough. He had to face Dave. They had to talk about it.

With a sigh, he opened his curtains, and faced the sun without hiding away. He cleaned every inch of his room, leaving every surface, every object, every dark, deep crevice scrubbed clean and spotless.

Then he stood on his balcony with his phone in his hand and waited.

He didn’t have to wait long for the device to buzz with what had become a triple daily call. This time, however, he didn’t ignore it. He slid the green symbol across his screen and brought the phone up to his ear.

“Hey,” Evan said, closing his eyes as he listened to the sharp intake of breath on the other side of the line. Then it was quiet for a moment.

“Evan,” Dave finally breathed into his phone, the name a whirlwind of emotion. “Oh, God, Evan—I—I’m so sorry—I,” a sob broke through the speaker that Evan had pressed tightly against his ear, and he winced when he heard it.

“I know, Dave, I—” he shook his head. “I’ve been a mess the last few days. I’m sorry for not getting back at you. I know you’ve been trying to get a hold of me.”

“No, no, no, no! That’s okay, I—Jesus, Evan, I never thought I’d hear your voice again. After what I did...”

Evan nodded. He understood why Dave would think that, although he was ashamed to admit that he had never doubted that they would speak again. “We need to talk. Are you up for a drink in that juice place on campus?”

It was quiet for a moment, and Evan could hear the sound of rustling fabric on the other end of the line. “Yeah, right away, I’m on my way, you—” Dave hesitated. “You did mean _now_ , right?”

“Yeah, now. See you there?”

“Okay.”

Before he could hear Dave’s stammered ‘I love you,’ Evan ended the call and looked out over the trees he could see from his balcony. He hoped he was making the right decision, but he had _seen_ Dave’s face. He was certain that Dave had been as shocked about what had happened as he had.

 

Evan knew that it probably didn’t set the right tone for the conversation they were going to have to have, but when he saw Dave walk into the lunch bar, looking like a kicked puppy, he couldn’t help but leap up onto his feet and hug him tightly, hiding his face in his... boyfriend’s? chest.

Dave startled a bit, but soon relaxed into the hug, patting Evan’s back gently, as if he were made of glass. He nuzzled Evan’s hair, and Evan could feel him press a few soft kisses on top of his head. “Hey, baby,” Dave spoke softly, and then he gently pushed Evan back, holding him at an arm’s length as he shot him a searching look. “You okay?”

Evan shook his head but then nodded and then gave up on the whole answering thing and just shrugged. “I think so.”

He wanted to say something about that his head didn’t hurt anymore, but once again, that would be acknowledging what had happened. That would mean admitting to Dave that he had hurt him. Somehow that felt like something impossible, something that would break them forever – irreparably. He couldn’t do that. Not after almost two whole semesters of being together.

Dave sighed and hugged him tightly again, just for a second, and then stepped back, carefully taking a hold of Evan’s hand. “Drinks?” he suggested. Evan nodded.

A few minutes later they were settled at a quiet table outside with their mango smoothies, both quietly stirring their drinks with their straws. Then Dave looked up at him.  “I understand if you want to leave me,” he said. “What I did was horrible, and I’m really sorry. I _hurt_ you, baby. There’s no excuse.”

Evan shook his head quietly, looking up at Dave in return. “I don’t want to leave you,” he said, and Dave opened his mouth to respond, but Evan held up his finger, indicating that he wasn’t done yet. “I don’t want to leave you, and if you still want me, I’m not going to leave you.” He was quiet for a moment, giving Dave some time to take that information in. He could see the question marks in his bright eyes. “ _But,_ ” Evan continued, and the way Dave’s shoulders slumped again told him that the other had been waiting for that word. “If it happens again, I will. I can’t live a life like that, Dave. I understand you get... emotional over things, but I can’t be with you like that.” He looked down at his drink, unable to meet Dave’s eyes any longer. “If you hurt me again I _am_ going to leave you.”

Dave leaned over the table to hug Evan, and over the boy’s shoulder, he smiled.


	9. Hansel and Gretel

_“You’re nothing but skin and bones!” said the witch, locking Hansel into a cage. “I shall fatten you up and eat you!”_

– Hansel and Gretel, by the Brothers Grimm

After those two horrible weeks, everything was perfect again, and after a couple of long conversations with Dave, Evan wondered why he had ever even sent his boyfriend out in the first place. It hadn’t been the guy’s fault, emotions had just run high and Evan _had_ indeed spent several nights a week out with friends instead of with his boyfriend where he should have known he belonged.

With his feet comfortably tucked underneath Dave’s thigh on the couch, he sat, occasionally flipping a page of his weekly Wednesday comics. It was nice, sitting like that with just the two of them, like it should be, and Evan felt stupid for ever thinking he needed _more_ than this in his life.

Sure, friends were nice, and, fine, movies were fun. But nothing could compare to this, right? The love between two people, and the way they were so incredibly _complete_ together.

If Dave needed no one but Evan in his life, surely Evan shouldn’t need to be with his friends so much either?

When he finished the last of his stack of comics, he hesitated. Wednesday was comic day, and comic day was something that he often spent with the guys at the comic store. They’d all get their comics, read them, and then meet up to discuss that week’s issues and swap some of the series that they didn’t buy for ones they had, so they could all read more.

He hadn’t gone for a few weeks though, first having been stuck in his dorm after his argument with Dave, and then again for a few weeks after he and Dave got back together again, and Dave had had the great idea of spending some more time together to fix what had been wrong with their relationship.

That morning, however, Dave had gone out to the gym – like he used to do every week – and Evan had seen his chance to go to the comic store again. Thankfully, the nice guys there had kept the comics on his pull list for all the weeks that he had missed, assuming (sort of correctly) that he had probably been sick.

Dave had come back from the gym way earlier than normal though, before Evan had even finished his comics, and with Wednesday usually being Evan’s day alone in his dorm, he wasn’t sure how to break the news to Dave that he had regular plans for Wednesday afternoon. Especially not after what had happened. Especially not when he was _already_ spending too much time with other people.

He wondered what harm it’d do if he lied, but instantly felt bad. _What if I just...  bend the truth a bit, though?_ he thought to himself.

Still with an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach he collected his comics into a stack and put them on his coffee table. Then he got up from the couch and stretched. “I’m going back to the comic store for a bit,” he said then, trying to sound as casual as he could.

Dave looked up, frowning at him, his eyes shooting from the comics on the table to Evan and back. “Didn’t you just get back from there?” he asked, suspiciously.

“It’s sort of a Wednesday thing for me,” Evan admitted, wanting to be as truthful as possible. “I usually do it when you’re at the gym so I can spend time with you outside of that, but you were back a bit earlier today so...”

Dave’s eyes tightened, but he nodded stiffly. “Just make sure you get everything you need in one go in the future. I cut my workout short so I could spend time with you.” He sighed. “I don’t want to be the only one investing something into this relationship, Evan.”

Evan’s insides twisted and turned, and he felt guiltier than ever for lying. He knew Dave would like it even less if he told the whole truth though. He instantly decided that comic Wednesdays would have to be a thing of the past from that week on. “I know, I’m sorry. I should have asked you about your plans for the day. It won’t happen again, I promise.”

He grabbed his jacket and his comics, kissed Dave goodbye, and left. He felt guiltier and guiltier every step on his way to the comic book store.


End file.
